Bottle for christening ships



April 24, 1962 w c. LOUGHRAN BOTTLE FOR CHRISTENING SHIPS Filed Jan. 11, 1960 INVEN TOR. WILL/AM 6. 1.006111% United States Patent 3,031,095 BOTTLE FOR CHRISTENING SHIPS William C. Loughran, Brielle, NJ. (637 Ocean Ave., Sea Girt, NJ.) Filed Jan. 11, 1960, Ser. No. 1,463 3 Claims. (til. 215-1) This invention relates to bottles. In particular it relates to bottles specifically constructed for christening vulnerable craft such as boats, planes and the like to which use, however it is not restricted.

It is customary to christen a boat with its name when launched and according to ancient marine lore, a sign of bad luck to have the ceremony go amiss. Large vessels are struck across the bow with a bottle of champagne by some distinguished person. The extreme internal pressure caused by eifervescing champagne requires very thick glass to prevent the bottle from bursting. The inherent strength of such thick bottles poses a very real problem when trying to break it in the few strategic seconds before a ship slips beyond reach down the way. This feat is especially diflicult for a lady selected to do the honors, as it usually requires several full baseball bat swings and sometimes even with the able assistance of a husky escort it has taken ten such swings to fracture the thick glass and ensure the vessels good luck.

It can be readily seen that the force necessary to break a champagne bottle would wreck a craft of less sturdy structure. Indeed, many a pleasure craft has been seriously damaged by fond new owners breaking or attempting to break regular bottles of average thickness over their treasured new possessions in their desire to uphold this tradition of the sea.

It is an object of the invention therefore to devise a bottle of effervescent liquid which will lend itself to being easily shattered across the bow of a ship or airship and splash its fuzzy contents in a christening ceremony without danger of scratching polished metal or marring highly varnished wood. The invention also adapts itself to any notable occasion such as dedications or formal openings of government parks, bridges, tunnels, businesses, trade shows, fairs, house warmings, showers, new cars, etc.

It is a further object of the invention to devise a bottle of sufficient inherent strength to prevent premature breakage due to accidental dropping or vibration encountered during handling and shipping.

A still further object is to devise a bottle for christening ships which will break at a remote predetermined location without danger of cutting the christeners hand with broken glass or of flying fragments endangering any in the immediate vicinity.

I have now devised a bottle especially constructed to be shattered by a comparatively light horizontal blow at a predetermined location without endangering the christener or those in the christening party from injury due to broken glass.

The invention contemplates a bottle, which may simulate the general outer contours of a champagne bottle, but differ from champagne or other conventional bottles in having a thick bottom and neck portion relative to a weaker area of thinner glass in the lower body portion. a The bottle may be specially molded or otherwise treated to provide an area of tapering glass at a predetermined distance from the lower portion thereof. This circumferential area of thinner glass is disposed proximate the point of impact against the prow of a ship so that a jagged break is made with minimum effort to christen the craft with the bottled contents without damage to the craft from the blow.

It is noted that by merely weakening the side wall of the christening bottle it will not break clean across its circumference at any given point, as would be the case if it were scored on the inside and tapped or slammed on the outside. The outer skin of the thinner portion may be further weakened by scoring or etching without sacrificing the desirable jagged fracture since the bottle will be weakened and struck on the same outer surface.

A further, important feature of the invention is a protective covering secured to the bottle after filling. This will not only allow the bottle to perform its function by fracturing and prevent shattered glass from flying, but also provides a non-slip handle when the bottle neck is used for this purpose. Cord knotted around the outside of the bottle to provide the above mentioned protective covering also lends a desirable nautical effect in keeping with its specially designated function.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent in the following detail description and the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, wherein FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a mold and bottle forming the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the bottle shown in FIG. 1 illustrating the manner in which the body portion shatters into jagged fragments when used to christen a ship or other object; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a filled bottle encased in a corded protective coveringready for christening purposes.

Referring now to the drawings, a bottle embodying the invention is designated generally as 10. A special mold 11, 11 such as shown in FIG. 1 may be used to produce a bottle having a heavy top portion 12 and a heavy bottom portion 13.

I The bottle is preferably molded of green glass and its reinforced upper portion 12 is about three-quarters of an inch thick proximate the neck 14 so that there is no likelihood of breaking in this area when the neck is used as a handle.

The lower section of the body portion 15 may have a considerably thinner area relative to the bottom 13 and upper section 12. At a point generally indicated as 16 the glass may taper to a circumferential ring of about one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness. This strategically disposed thin ring may be molded into the bottle as shown in FIG. 1, but can also be circumferentially scored by a diamond or other glass cuter, controllably etched by hydrofluoric acid or produced by electrically passing a current through a conductive wire encircling the bottle. The invention therefore embraces both a thinner glass area and/ or a thinner glass ring to produce a weakened body portion relative to the neck and bottom portions to which it may be fused.

The general structure of the bottle is sturdy, being designed to shatter or break irregularly only in one place upon direct perpendicular impact on the thinner glass area or near ring 16. For instance, the bottle will not break if it accidently drops to the floor, falls on its side, or is vibrated during shipment. If desired, however, the bottle can be dipped in plastic or receive a similar coating about its weakest point to protect it against premature fracture.

After the bottle is filled with a fizzy christening liquid, it is tightly encased in a hand knotted net 17. The net closely covers the cork or cap 18 and terminates in a loop 19 at the bottom by which the bottle can be hung for display purposes. A colored ribbon 20 may be tied or otherwise attached to the top of the simulated fishermans net to add a decorative flourish for the festive occasion. An appropriate label 21 is also aflixed to complete the article, as shown in FIG. 3.

The forms of the invention here described and illustrated are presented merely as examples of how the invention may be embodied and applied. Other forms, embodiments and applications of the invention, coming within the proper scope of the appended claims, will, of course, suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A safety christening bottle for ships and like objects to ensure proper functioning during such ceremony, said bottle comprising a long, tapering thick neck portion, a large heavy base portion, and a body portion, said body portion extending upwardly from said base portion with the upper part thereof tapering inwardly to said neck portion, the lower part of said body portion being substantially thinner than said upper part, said body portion gradually increasing in thickness from said base portion to said neck portion, fizzable liquid contents disposed in said bottle, a thinner glass ring disposed about the outer periphery of said lower part adapted to shatter said body portion into multiple jagged fragments and splash said fizzable liquid contents over an object being christened without danger of such impact marring the surface finish thereof when said outer skin of said lower part is struck perpendicularly against such object.

2. A safety christening bottle according to claim 1 wherein the outer skin of said lower part is cut to form said ring.

3. A safety christening bottle according to claim 1 having a knotted net cover thereover, the knots in said cover providing a non-slip handle for gripping and swinging said neck portion while christening such object, said cover thereafter providing a flexible bag for retaining such jagged fragments therein and preventing injury to persons proximate thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,318,379 Davis et al. May 4, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 19,211 Switzerland Mar. 30, 1899 

